


I got my ticket for the long way round (You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone)

by Deeambles



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Gen, Western Air Temple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25207378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deeambles/pseuds/Deeambles
Summary: The one where there is no convenient fire nation airship lagging behind the rest. When Zuko falls off the balloon in his fight with Azula at the Western Air Temple, he falls to his death.Aang realizes too little too late that the future has changed course because of it.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73





	I got my ticket for the long way round (You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone)

It’s a suspended moment of time when it happens. Azula is rising up like a wraith atop her war balloon, waiting for one of the fireballs to hit Appa. She is at the bottom of the floating triangle; all of her minions spread around her like extra-long arms she can use at her disposal. 

And they are. She snaps her fingers and the ships are firing. It is the strong point of the fire nation; their technology. Pay no attention to how they acquired it, only know it’s not on your side and it’s armed with fire benders whose honor was banished from the nation years ago. 

Azula open fires on Zuko and the gang can only watch as Zuko is forced to dive out of the way. 

Toph, unnerved by the silence and her limited vision atop of Appa, demands an update. 

Aang can’t give her one and Sokka fills the tense silence with a live commentary. 

It has none of his usual vibrant attitude or comedic interludes, simply straight facts. Azula is firing, Zuko is dodging. Back and forth, each pass more tense than the last. 

It feels like forever for all that it happens in a matter of seconds. 

Zuko fires off at Azula mid jump, but doesn’t make the landing. He slips down the side of the airship and loses any grip against the slippery metal. He falls, and the gang is just at the right angle to see panic cross his face before the mist covers him from view. 

Azula’s laugh echoes between the now-ruins of the Western Air Temple and the great chasm below it. 

She’s singing, practically singing about her new status as an only child when there’s no clear sign of Zuko again. Aang makes Appa circle just for a second to see. 

Katara cries out in alarm, Toph is demanding to know whats wrong, and Sokka is pointing out that they can’t go back for the others yet. Aang is forced to turn Appa away from a fire ball that runs too close, and that’s when they know it’s bad. Azula is approaching, albeit slowly, and they can’t lead her back to the others. Zuko, does not appear again from the mist. 

Nobody speaks for a long while. 

Zuko fell off the cliffs of the Western Air Temple and he didn’t resurface. 

Aang feels something in his heart, in his very soul change and for just one minute, he sees Roku at the edge of his vision. He feels hands like his own lay down on his shoulders in neither pity nor grief. 

Simply acceptance. 

Aang whispers, “That was bad, huh Roku.” 

The crew is explaining to Toph what happened behind him, ignorant of his struggles. Momo is a silent flier next to Appa’s horn. 

“It seems, young Aang, your journey just got a little more difficult.” Roku says quietly. There is hurt in his voice now that Aang knows to listen for it. 

“I’m sorry.” Aang says. Sorry he couldn’t mend the broken bond between Roku and Sozin, sorry he couldn’t help mend past mistakes, sorry he couldn’t be the avatar when it was most important—

“Aang,” Roku says firmly, “my mistakes are my own. I must go, you need to decide where you want to go from here.” 

Aang nods, a pass that looks more like his head drops forward and Appa groans in sympathy. 

The spirit hands on his shoulders disappear. 

“Aang?” Katara asks from her perch in the saddle, “where are we going?” 

Aangs head rises, he can’t fly Appa blindly with this much weight. He needs a destination. 

A force not his own directs his head East. 

“Ba sing se.” Aang says, because that sounds right. 

There are protests, demands of explanation but Aang is down a teacher, down a mentor, down a friend, and the earth capital just seems _right_. The others will catch up, he knows, in the same way Aang knows they need to go east. 

“Aang!” Katara demands

“Listen bud—“ Sokka tries to reason

“Maybe we’ll find Iroh there.” Toph interrupts with. 

Nobody speaks much after that. 

They have smooth flying the whole way there.

**Author's Note:**

> okay so i wrote this by memory and didn't rewatch the episode to remember that zuko actually falls twice, and the gaang doesn't see the first one. In this scenario the gaang spends less time trying to convince Appa to go through a cave and more time escaping and DO see him fall. and well, you know the rest, rip.


End file.
